Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to generate acquisition paths

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to generate acquisition paths are disclosed. An example apparatus includes input interface circuitry to obtain input data associated with a vehicle, threshold calculation circuitry to calculate, based on the input data, a threshold curvature and a threshold curvature rate of the vehicle, and acquisition path generation circuitry to select a point on a target path of the vehicle, generate an acquisition path from a current position of the vehicle to the point, the acquisition path including at least two curves, and cause storage of the acquisition path in response to the at least two curves satisfying the threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to vehicle steering and, moreparticularly, to methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture togenerate acquisition paths.

BACKGROUND

Agricultural vehicles have become increasingly automated. Agriculturalvehicles may semi-autonomously or fully-autonomously drive and performoperations on fields using implements for planting, spraying,harvesting, fertilizing, stripping/tilling, etc. These autonomousagricultural vehicles include multiple sensors (e.g., Global NavigationSatellite Systems (GNSS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), LightDetection and Ranging (LIDAR), Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR),Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR), telematics sensors, etc.) to helpnavigate without assistance, or with limited assistance, from humanusers.

SUMMARY

An example apparatus includes input interface circuitry to obtain inputdata associated with a vehicle. Threshold calculation circuitry is tocalculate, based on the input data, a threshold curvature and athreshold curvature rate of the vehicle. Acquisition path generationcircuitry is to select a point on a target path of the vehicle, generatean acquisition path from a current position of the vehicle to the point,the acquisition path including at least two curves, and cause storage ofthe acquisition path in response to the at least two curves satisfyingthe threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

An example non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructionsthat, when executed, cause at least one processor to at least obtaininput data associated with a vehicle. The at least one processor is tocalculate, based on the input data, a threshold curvature and athreshold curvature rate of the vehicle, select a point on a target pathof the vehicle, generate an acquisition path from a current position ofthe vehicle to the point, the acquisition path including at least twocurves, and cause storage of the acquisition path in response to the atleast two curves satisfying the threshold curvature and the thresholdcurvature rate.

An example apparatus includes means for obtaining to obtain input dataassociated with a vehicle, means for calculating to calculate, based onthe input data, a threshold curvature and a threshold curvature rate ofthe vehicle, and means for generating to select a point on a target pathof the vehicle, generate an acquisition path from a current position ofthe vehicle to the point, the acquisition path including at least twocurves, and cause storage of the acquisition path in response to the atleast two curves satisfying the threshold curvature and the thresholdcurvature rate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of first and second example vehiclesutilizing example vehicle control circuitry and example path generationcontrol circuitry in accordance with teachings of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the example vehicle control circuitry ofFIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the example path generation controlcircuitry of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the first example vehicle of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 illustrates example acquisition points along an example targetpath.

FIG. 6A illustrates a first example acquisition path for the firstexample vehicle of FIG. 4 , wherein the wheels of the first examplevehicle are turning to the right.

FIG. 6B illustrates a second example acquisition path for the firstexample vehicle of FIG. 4 , wherein the wheels of the first examplevehicle are straight.

FIG. 6C illustrates a third example acquisition path for the firstexample vehicle of FIG. 4 , wherein the wheels of the first examplevehicle are turning to the left.

FIG. 6D illustrates the example first, second, and third acquisitionpaths of FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, respectively.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example acquisition path including an examplerunway portion and an example copy portion.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionsthat may be executed to implement the example vehicle control circuitryof FIG. 2 .

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionsthat may be executed to implement the example path generation controlcircuitry of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example processing platform structuredto execute the instructions of FIG. 8 to implement the example vehiclecontrol circuitry of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example processing platform structuredto execute the instructions of FIG. 9 to implement the example pathgeneration control circuitry of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the processorcircuitry of FIGS. 10 and/or 11 .

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of another example implementation of theprocessor circuitry of FIGS. 10 and/or 11 .

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example software distribution platform(e.g., one or more servers) to distribute software (e.g., softwarecorresponding to the example machine readable instructions of FIGS. 8and/or 9 ) to client devices associated with end users and/or consumers(e.g., for license, sale, and/or use), retailers (e.g., for sale,re-sale, license, and/or sub-license), and/or original equipmentmanufacturers (OEMs) (e.g., for inclusion in products to be distributedto, for example, retailers and/or to other end users such as direct buycustomers).

The figures are not to scale. Instead, the thickness of the layers orregions may be enlarged in the drawings. Although the figures showlayers and regions with clean lines and boundaries, some or all of theselines and/or boundaries may be idealized. In reality, the boundariesand/or lines may be unobservable, blended, and/or irregular.

In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same orlike parts. As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the term “above”describes the relationship of two parts relative to Earth. A first partis above a second part, if the second part has at least one part betweenEarth and the first part. Likewise, as used herein, a first part is“below” a second part when the first part is closer to the Earth thanthe second part. As noted above, a first part can be above or below asecond part with one or more of: other parts therebetween, without otherparts therebetween, with the first and second parts touching, or withoutthe first and second parts being in direct contact with one another.

As used in this patent, stating that any part (e.g., a layer, film,area, region, or plate) is in any way on (e.g., positioned on, locatedon, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) another part, indicates that thereferenced part is either in contact with the other part, or that thereferenced part is above the other part with one or more intermediatepart(s) located therebetween. As used herein, connection references(e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and joined) may includeintermediate members between the elements referenced by the connectionreference and/or relative movement between those elements unlessotherwise indicated. As such, connection references do not necessarilyinfer that two elements are directly connected and/or in fixed relationto each other. As used herein, stating that any part is in “contact”with another part is defined to mean that there is no intermediate partbetween the two parts.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, descriptors such as “first,”“second,” “third,” etc., are used herein without imputing or otherwiseindicating any meaning of priority, physical order, arrangement in alist, and/or ordering in any way, but are merely used as labels and/orarbitrary names to distinguish elements for ease of understanding thedisclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor “first” may be usedto refer to an element in the detailed description, while the sameelement may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor suchas “second” or “third.” In such instances, it should be understood thatsuch descriptors are used merely for identifying those elementsdistinctly that might, for example, otherwise share a same name.

As used herein, “approximately” and “about” refer to dimensions that maynot be exact due to manufacturing tolerances and/or other real worldimperfections. As used herein “substantially real time” refers tooccurrence in a near instantaneous manner recognizing there may be realworld delays for computing time, transmission, etc. Thus, unlessotherwise specified, “substantially real time” refers to real time +/−1second. As used herein, the phrase “in communication,” includingvariations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirectcommunication through one or more intermediary components, and does notrequire direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constantcommunication, but rather additionally includes selective communicationat periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/orone-time events.

As used herein, “processor circuitry” is defined to include (i) one ormore special purpose electrical circuits structured to perform specificoperation(s) and including one or more semiconductor-based logic devices(e.g., electrical hardware implemented by one or more transistors),and/or (ii) one or more general purpose semiconductor-based electricalcircuits programmed with instructions to perform specific operations andincluding one or more semiconductor-based logic devices (e.g.,electrical hardware implemented by one or more transistors). Examples ofprocessor circuitry include programmed microprocessors, FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that may instantiate instructions,Central Processor Units (CPUs), Graphics Processor Units (GPUs), DigitalSignal Processors (DSPs), XPUs, or microcontrollers and integratedcircuits such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). Forexample, an XPU may be implemented by a heterogeneous computing systemincluding multiple types of processor circuitry (e.g., one or moreFPGAs, one or more CPUs, one or more GPUs, one or more DSPs, etc.,and/or a combination thereof) and application programming interface(s)(API(s)) that may assign computing task(s) to whichever one(s) of themultiple types of the processing circuitry is/are best suited to executethe computing task(s).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Automation of agricultural vehicles is commercially desirable becauseautomation can improve the accuracy with which operations are performed,reduce operator fatigue, improve efficiency, and accrue other benefits.Some automated vehicles include and/or are otherwise enabled forautomation functionality, but the user may need to engage and/ordisengage the automation functionality. For example, a user could switcha vehicle into an autonomous mode of operation, but the vehicle wouldnot autonomously drive until the user presses a button or toggles aswitch to “engage” automation. As such, the vehicle can be referred toas being in a “standby” autonomous mode of operation when automation isenabled but not engaged and in a “fully” autonomous mode of operationwhen automation is enabled and engaged. In either standby autonomousmode or fully autonomous mode, a user may be present within the vehicle.

Whether in standby autonomous mode or fully autonomous mode, autonomousvehicles include one or more controllers to ensure that the autonomousvehicles traverse terrain properly. In examples disclosed herein,automated vehicles follow guidance paths when in fully autonomous mode.A controller may have many different modes of operation including anacquisition mode of operation and a tracking mode of operation. As usedherein, “tracking,” “tracking mode,” “tracking mode of operation,”and/or their derivatives refer to following and/or tracking a guidancepath (e.g., in a fully autonomous mode). As used herein, “acquisition,”“acquisition mode,” “acquisition mode of operation,” and/or theirderivatives refer to operation when the vehicle is travelling to aguidance path, a path, and/or acquiring a position that is substantiallysimilar to (e.g., within one meter of, within a half meter of, withintwo meters of, etc.) a guidance path. The path a vehicle takes or maytake during acquisition mode is referred to herein as “an acquisitionpath,” and “an acquisition line,” among others.

Guidance paths (e.g., target paths) are used by a navigation and/orlocation apparatus (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver)and a controller in tracking mode to cause a vehicle to follow aprescribed path. In some examples, the prescribed path includes turns,curves, etc., for the vehicle to follow when operating in a field.Conventional controllers, sometimes referred to as guidance systems,allow users of a vehicle to specify a guidance path for the vehicle inthe cab. In examples disclosed herein, the heading of a vehicle, alsoreferred to as the yaw of the vehicle, is defined as the direction inwhich the vehicle is pointing. For example, the heading can be drawn bya straight line, starting from the front of the vehicle and extending inthe direction the vehicle is traveling.

Some known guidance systems generate acquisition paths that are notbased on a current curvature and/or maneuverability of the vehicle. Assuch, the acquisition paths generated by some known guidance systemsrequire the vehicle to make sudden and/or rapid changes in direction,which may result in jerking motion of the vehicle and/or an inability ofthe vehicle to track the acquisition path.

Examples disclosed herein generate example acquisition paths that enablea vehicle to make smooth transitions from a current position to a targetpath. Examples disclosed herein obtain example input data associatedwith a vehicle, where the input data includes at least one of thecurrent position, a current heading, a current speed, a wheel angle, awheel angle rate, or a wheelbase of the vehicle. Examples disclosedherein calculate a threshold curvature and threshold curvature ratebased on the input data, and generate one or more acquisition pathsbetween the current position and an acquisition point on the target paththat satisfy the threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.In some examples, the acquisition paths include a runway portion thattracks a current curvature of the vehicle for a given distance, therebyreducing sudden changes in curvature of the vehicle. Furthermore, theexample acquisition paths do not exceed the threshold curvature and/orthe threshold curvature rate of the vehicle, thus ensuring that thevehicle is able to traverse the acquisition path.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example environment 100including a first example vehicle 102A and a second example vehicle102B. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the first vehicle 102Autilizes first example vehicle control circuitry 104A, and the secondvehicle 102B utilizes second example vehicle control circuitry 104B. Inthis example, the first and second vehicle control circuitry 104A, 104Bare communicatively coupled to example path generation control circuitry106 via an example network 108. In other examples, the path generationcontrol circuitry 106 may be implemented locally by each of the firstand second vehicle control circuitry 104A, 104B.

In the example of FIG. 1 , the vehicle control circuitry 104A, 104Bguides the first vehicle 102A and the second vehicle 102B, respectively,along one or more guidance paths (e.g., travel paths). The first vehicle102A includes an example sensor 110A, an example Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver 112A, an example user interface 114A, front wheels(one of which is shown at reference numeral 116A), and rear wheels (oneof which is shown at reference numeral 118A).

The second vehicle 102B includes an example sensor 110B, an exampleGlobal Positioning System (GPS) receiver 112B, an example user interface114B, front wheels (one of which is shown at reference numeral 116B),and rear wheels (one of which is shown at reference numeral 118B).

As illustrated and described herein, the structure and/or function ofany one of the vehicle control circuitry 104B, the sensor 110B, the GPSreceiver 112B, the user interface 114B, the front wheels (e.g., thefront wheel 116B), and/or the rear wheels (e.g., the rear wheel 118B),may be the same as the corresponding component on the first vehicle102A. Therefore, for example, description and/or illustration associatedwith the vehicle control circuitry 104A of the first vehicle 102A can beconsidered to apply equally to the vehicle control circuitry 104B of thesecond vehicle 102B.

As used herein, when referring to “the vehicle 102,” it is to beunderstood that the description and/or illustration applies to both thefirst vehicle 102A and the second vehicle 102B. Similarly, whenreferring to any one or more of the components of the first vehicle 102Aor the second vehicle 102B, if a component is discussed (e.g., thevehicle control circuitry 104, the sensor 110, the GPS receiver 112, theuser interface 114, the front wheel 116, the rear wheel 118, etc.), itis to be understood that the illustration and/or description applies tothese respective parts on both of the first vehicle 102A and the secondvehicle 102B.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1 , the first vehicle 102A is atractor and the second vehicle 102B is a cotton stripper. However, thefirst vehicle 102A and the second vehicle 102B may be any type ofvehicle (e.g., a tractor, front loader, harvester, cultivator, or anyother suitable vehicle) configured to track a projected path and/orcurved path. For example, the first vehicle 102A may be a tractorcapable of automatically tracking a row of crops to harvest the row ofcrops. The first vehicle 102A and/or the second vehicle 102B may be afront wheel steer vehicle or a rear wheel steer vehicle. As used herein,a front wheel steer vehicle steers by pivoting its front wheels (such asthe front wheel 116A) with respect to a vehicle frame, while a rearwheel steer vehicle steers by pivoting its rear wheels (such as the rearwheel 118B) with respect to a vehicle frame.

In some examples, the vehicle 102 may be implemented as an articulatedvehicle that includes a different steering system as compared to frontwheel and/or rear wheel steer vehicles. In examples disclosed herein,the vehicle 102 is equipped with the vehicle control circuitry 104 tocontrol and/or otherwise command the vehicle 102 to acquire and/or tracka predetermined path.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the first vehicle 102A isimplemented as a front wheel steer vehicle. As such, the first vehicle102A turns in response to pivoting of the front wheel 116A. For example,if the user or an autonomous driving system decides to turn left, thefront wheel 116A is pivoted to the left. The second vehicle 102B isimplemented as a rear wheel steer vehicle. As such, the second vehicle102B turns in response to pivoting of the rear wheel 118B. In examplesdisclosed herein, the front wheels 116A, 116B are located on a frontwheel axle with one or more additional corresponding front wheels.Likewise, in examples disclosed herein, the rear wheels 118A, 118B arelocated on a rear wheel axle with one or more additional correspondingrear wheels.

In the example of FIG. 1 , the sensor 110A is associated with the frontwheel 116A in the first vehicle 102A, and the sensor 110B is associatedwith the rear wheel 118B in the second vehicle 102B. The sensor 110gathers wheel data associated with the front wheel 116 and/or the rearwheel 118. For example, the sensor 110 measures a current wheel angle ofthe front and/or rear wheels 116, 118 with respect to a vehicle frame orother reference point. In some examples, the sensor 110 samples thecurrent wheel angle at a threshold interval. For example, every 0.1seconds, the sensor 110 may send the current wheel angle to the vehiclecontrol circuitry 104 and/or the path generation control circuitry 106for use in generating an acquisition path. In some examples, the sensor110 can measure a first maximum wheel angle (e.g., a first limitingwheel angle) in the leftward direction and a second maximum wheel angle(e.g., a second limiting wheel angle) in the rightward direction. Forexample, the vehicle 102 can be turned fully to the left via manualoperation by an operator of the vehicle 102, and the sensor 110 measuresthe first maximum wheel angle when the front and/or rear wheels 116, 118are turned fully to the left. Similarly, the vehicle 102 can be turnedfully to the right via manual operation by the operator, and the sensor110 measures the second maximum wheel angle when the front and/or rearwheels 116, 118 are turned fully to the right. In some examples, thesensor 110 measures a wheel angle rate of the front and/or rear wheels116, 118, where the wheel angle rate corresponds to a rate at which thefront and/or rear wheels 116, 118 can change direction.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the GPS receiver 112 communicateswith the vehicle control circuitry 104 and/or the path generationcontrol circuitry 106 to provide and/or otherwise transmit position data(e.g., a current position and/or speed of the vehicle 102) thereto. Insome examples, the GPS receiver 112 samples the current position and/orspeed of the vehicle 102 at a threshold interval. For example, every 0.1seconds, the GPS receiver 112 may send the current position to thevehicle control circuitry 104 and/or the path generation controlcircuitry 106 for use in generating an acquisition path. In someexamples, the GPS receiver 112 determines the current speed of thevehicle 102 based on measured positions of the vehicle 102 over time.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the user interface 114 enables anoperator of the vehicle 102 to provide inputs to the vehicle controlcircuitry 104 and/or the path generation control circuitry 106. In someexamples, the user interface 114 is implemented by a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) touch screen such as a tablet, a computer monitor, etc. Inthe example of FIG. 1 , the user interface 114 is an interactive displayon which the operator may select and/or enter desired inputs (e.g.,select a screen display, enter desired vehicle speed, select a samplinginterval, power on and/or off the vehicle, etc.) before, during, and/orafter operation of the vehicle 102. In some examples, the user interface114 enables the operator to select a desired guidance path (e.g., atarget path) from among one or more guidance paths preloaded in thevehicle control circuitry 104.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the vehicle control circuitry 104is communicatively coupled to the path generation control circuitry 106via the network 108. In this example, the path generation controlcircuitry 106 generates one or more acquisition paths to guide thevehicle 102 from the current position to the desired guidance path ofthe vehicle 102. In some examples, the path generation control circuitry106 receives input data from the vehicle control circuitry 104, wherethe input data includes, in some examples, the current position of thevehicle 102, the current heading of the vehicle 102, the current speedof the vehicle 102, the current wheel angle of the front and/or rearwheels 116, 118, the first and second maximum wheel angles, and/or thewheel angle rate. Additionally, the path generation control circuitry106 obtains a desired guidance path (e.g., target path) from the vehiclecontrol circuitry 104. In some examples, the desired guidance path isselected (e.g., by a user) from one or more guidance paths preloaded onthe vehicle control circuitry 104. In some examples, the one or moreacquisition paths generated by the path generation control circuitry 106are used by the vehicle control circuitry 104 to control steering of thevehicle 102 (e.g., by adjusting a rotation speed and/or direction of thefront and/or rear wheels 116, 118).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the example vehicle control circuitry 104of FIG. 1 . In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the vehicle controlcircuitry 104 includes example vehicle data interface circuitry 202,example guidance control circuitry 204, example vehicle data database206, and example network interface circuitry 208. In the example of FIG.2 , the guidance control circuitry 204 generates example steeringcommands 210, and the network interface circuitry 208 is communicativelycoupled to the path generation control circuitry 106 via the network 108of FIG. 1 . In the example of FIG. 2 , any of the vehicle data interfacecircuitry 202, the guidance control circuitry 204, the vehicle datadatabase 206, and/or the network interface circuitry 208 can communicatevia an example communication bus 212.

In examples disclosed herein, the communication bus 212 may beimplemented using any suitable wired and/or wireless communication. Inadditional or alternative examples, the communication bus 212 includessoftware, machine readable instructions, and/or communication protocolsby which information is communicated among the vehicle data interfacecircuitry 202, the guidance control circuitry 204, the vehicle datadatabase 206, and/or the network interface circuitry 208.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the vehicle data database 206stores vehicle data and/or path data utilized and/or obtained by thevehicle control circuitry 104. The example vehicle data database 206 ofFIG. 2 is implemented by any memory, storage device and/or storage discfor storing data such as, for example, flash memory, magnetic media,optical media, solid state memory, hard drive(s), thumb drive(s), etc.Furthermore, the data stored in the example vehicle data database 206may be in any data format such as, for example, binary data, commadelimited data, tab delimited data, structured query language (SQL)structures, etc. While, in the illustrated example, the example vehicledata database 206 is illustrated as a single device, the example vehicledata database 206 and/or any other data storage devices described hereinmay be implemented by any number and/or type(s) of memories.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the vehicle data interfacecircuitry 202 provides vehicle data to the guidance control circuitry204, the vehicle data database 206, and/or the network interfacecircuitry 208, where the vehicle data includes measurements of vehicleparts of the vehicle 102, distances between relative areas of thevehicle 102, etc. In this example, the vehicle data interface circuitry202 is communicatively coupled to the user interface 114, the sensor110, and/or the GPS receiver 112 of FIG. 1 to receive and/or otherwiseobtain the vehicle data therefrom. For example, the vehicle datainterface circuitry 202 obtains sensor data from the sensor 110 and/orGPS data from the GPS receiver 112, and the vehicle data interfacecircuitry 202 determines the vehicle data based on the sensor dataand/or the GPS data. In some examples, the vehicle data interfacecircuitry 202 obtains the current position of the vehicle 102 and thecurrent speed of the vehicle 102 from the GPS data, and obtains thecurrent wheel angle of the front and/or rear wheels 116, 118, themaximum wheel angles in a leftward and a rightward direction, and/or themaximum wheel angle rate from the sensor data. In some examples, thevehicle data interface circuitry 202 causes storage of the vehicle data(e.g., including the current position, the current heading, the currentspeed, the current wheel angle, the maximum wheel angles, and/or themaximum wheel angle rate) in the vehicle data database 206.

In the example of FIG. 2 , the example vehicle data interface circuitry202 accepts user input data that is provided by an operator of thevehicle 102 via the user interface 114. In some examples, the user inputdata includes preset and/or predetermined values, measurements, and/ordistances of the vehicle 102. For example, the user input data includesa wheelbase of the vehicle 102, where the wheelbase corresponds to adistance between a front wheel axis and a rear wheel axis of the vehicle102. In some examples, the operator can select, via the user interface114, a target path (e.g., a desired guidance path) from among one ormore guidance paths stored in the vehicle data database 206. In someexamples, the one or more guidance paths are stored in the vehicle datadatabase 206 prior to operation of the vehicle 102. In some examples,the operator can modify the one or more guidance paths (e.g., add a newguidance path, remove an existing guidance path, modify an existingguidance path, etc.) via the user interface 114. In other examples, theone or more guidance paths can be modified remotely via networkcommunications received by the network interface circuitry 208. In someexamples, the vehicle data interface circuitry 202 provides the selectedguidance paths from the one or more guidance paths as an input to theguidance control circuitry 204 and/or to the network interface circuitry208.

In some examples, the vehicle control circuitry 104 includes means forinterfacing. For example, the means for interfacing may be implementedby the vehicle data interface circuitry 202. In some examples, thevehicle data interface circuitry 202 may be implemented by machineexecutable instructions such as that implemented by at least blocks 802,804, 806, and 808 of FIG. 8 executed by processor circuitry, which maybe implemented by the example processor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 , theexample processor circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 , and/or the example FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA) circuitry 1300 of FIG. 13 . In otherexamples, the vehicle data interface circuitry 202 is implemented byother hardware logic circuitry, hardware implemented state machines,and/or any other combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Forexample, the vehicle data interface circuitry 202 may be implemented byat least one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry,discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a comparator, anoperational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured toperform the corresponding operation without executing software orfirmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the network interface circuitry208 provides vehicle data to and/or receives generated path data fromthe path generation control circuitry 106. For example, the networkinterface circuitry 208 communicates with the path generation controlcircuitry 106 via the network 108 of FIG. 1 , and provides the vehicledata and/or the selected target path to the path generation controlcircuitry 106 via the network 108. Additionally or alternatively, thenetwork interface circuitry 208 receives generated path data from thepath generation control circuitry 106 via the network 108, where thegenerated path data includes an acquisition path generated based on thevehicle data and the selected target path.

In some examples, the vehicle control circuitry 104 includes means forcommunicating. For example, the means for communicating may beimplemented by the network interface circuitry 208. In some examples,the network interface circuitry 208 may be implemented by machineexecutable instructions such as that implemented by at least blocks 810and 812 of FIG. 8 executed by processor circuitry, which may beimplemented by the example processor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 , theexample processor circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 , and/or the example FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA) circuitry 1300 of FIG. 13 . In otherexamples, the network interface circuitry 208 is implemented by otherhardware logic circuitry, hardware implemented state machines, and/orany other combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Forexample, the network interface circuitry 208 may be implemented by atleast one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry, discreteand/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a comparator, anoperational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured toperform the corresponding operation without executing software orfirmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2 , the guidance control circuitry204 generates the steering commands 210 based on the target path and theacquisition path from the path generation control circuitry 106. Forexample, the steering commands 210 cause steering of wheels (e.g., thefront wheel 116 and/or the rear wheel 118) of the vehicle 102. In someexamples, the steering commands 210 control an angle at which the wheelsturn and/or a rotation speed of the wheels to move the vehicle 102 alongthe acquisition path and/or the target path.

In some examples, the vehicle control circuitry 104 includes means forguiding. For example, the means for guiding may be implemented by theguidance control circuitry 204. In some examples, the guidance controlcircuitry 204 may be implemented by machine executable instructions suchas that implemented by at least block 814 of FIG. 8 executed byprocessor circuitry, which may be implemented by the example processorcircuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 , the example processor circuitry 1200 of FIG.12 , and/or the example Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuitry1300 of FIG. 13 . In other examples, the guidance control circuitry 204is implemented by other hardware logic circuitry, hardware implementedstate machines, and/or any other combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. For example, the guidance control circuitry 204 may beimplemented by at least one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processorcircuitry, discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry,an FPGA, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), acomparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.)structured to perform the corresponding operation without executingsoftware or firmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

While an example manner of implementing the vehicle control circuitry104 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2 , one or more of the elements,processes, and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may be combined,divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated, and/or implemented in anyother way. Further, the example vehicle data interface circuitry 202,the example guidance control circuitry 204, the example vehicle datadatabase 206, the example network interface circuitry 208 and/or, moregenerally, the example vehicle control circuitry 104 of FIG. 2 may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, and/or any combination ofhardware, software, and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of theexample vehicle data interface circuitry 202, the example guidancecontrol circuitry 204, the example vehicle data database 206, theexample network interface circuitry 208, and/or, more generally, theexample vehicle control circuitry 104, could be implemented by processorcircuitry, analog circuit(s), digital circuit(s), logic circuit(s),programmable processor(s), programmable microcontroller(s), graphicsprocessing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)),application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logicdevice(s) (PLD(s)), and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s))such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). When reading any of theapparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example vehicle datainterface circuitry 202, the example guidance control circuitry 204, theexample vehicle data database 206, and/or the example network interfacecircuitry 208 is/are hereby expressly defined to include anon-transitory computer readable storage device or storage disk such asa memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-raydisk, etc., including the software and/or firmware. Further still, theexample vehicle control circuitry 104 of FIG. 1 may include one or moreelements, processes, and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIG. 2 , and/or may include more than one of any or allof the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the example path generation controlcircuitry 106 of FIG. 1 . In the illustrated example of FIG. 3 , thepath generation control circuitry 106 includes example input interfacecircuitry 302, example position modification circuitry 304, examplethreshold calculation circuitry 306, example acquisition path generationcircuitry 308, example acquisition path selection circuitry 310, andexample path generation database 312. In the example of FIG. 3 , any ofthe input interface circuitry 302, the position modification circuitry304, the threshold calculation circuitry 306, the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310,and/or the path generation database 312 can communicate via an examplecommunication bus 314.

In examples disclosed herein, the communication bus 314 may beimplemented using any suitable wired and/or wireless communication. Inadditional or alternative examples, the communication bus 314 includessoftware, machine readable instructions, and/or communication protocolsby which information is communicated among the input interface circuitry302, the position modification circuitry 304, the threshold calculationcircuitry 306, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308, theacquisition path selection circuitry 310, and/or the path generationdatabase 312.

The input interface circuitry 302 is communicatively coupled to thenetwork interface circuitry 208 of FIG. 2 to receive and/or otherwiseobtain example input data 316 therefrom. In some examples, the inputdata 316 includes the current position and/or the current speed of thevehicle 102 from the GPS receiver 112 of FIG. 1 , the current wheelangle, a first maximum wheel angle (e.g., in a fully leftward turn), asecond maximum wheel angle (e.g., in a fully rightward turn), and/or thewheel angle rate from the sensor 110 of FIG. 1 . In some examples, theinput data 316 includes the user input from the user interface 114 ofFIG. 1 , such as a value indicating a wheelbase of the vehicle 102.Additionally, the input data 316 includes the target path of the vehicle102 from the vehicle data database 206 of FIG. 2 . In some examples, thetarget path is selected by the operator of the vehicle 102 from one ormore possible target paths via the user interface 114.

In some examples, the path generation control circuitry 106 includesmeans for obtaining. For example, the means for obtaining may beimplemented by the input interface circuitry 302. In some examples, theinput interface circuitry 302 may be implemented by machine executableinstructions such as that implemented by at least block 902 of FIG. 9executed by processor circuitry, which may be implemented by the exampleprocessor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 , the example processor circuitry1200 of FIG. 12 , and/or the example Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA) circuitry 1300 of FIG. 13 . In other examples, the inputinterface circuitry 302 is implemented by other hardware logiccircuitry, hardware implemented state machines, and/or any othercombination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, theinput interface circuitry 302 may be implemented by at least one or morehardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry, discrete and/or integratedanalog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a comparator, an operational-amplifier(op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured to perform the correspondingoperation without executing software or firmware, but other structuresare likewise appropriate.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3 , the position modificationcircuitry 304 adjusts the current position of the vehicle 102 based on arunway. In some examples, the runway corresponds to a portion of thepath from the current position of the vehicle 102 having the samecurvature as a current curvature of the vehicle 102. In some examples,the position modification circuitry 304 determines the current curvaturebased on the current wheel angle from the sensor data, and/orapproximates the current curvature based on the GPS data. In someexamples, the runway begins at the current position of the vehicle 102,and an acquisition path is generated at an end of the runway. In someexamples, the runway enables the vehicle 102 to track the acquisitionpath for a length of time (e.g., 2 seconds, 5 seconds) before thecurvature of the acquisition path changes. As such, the runway enablessmooth transition of the vehicle 102 to the acquisition path (e.g.,without sudden changes in the curvature of the path). In one example, arunway distance of the runway is selected by the operator of the vehicle102 via the user interface 114, and the runway distance is provided inthe input data to the input interface circuitry 302. In some examples,the position modification circuitry 304 determines the current positionof the vehicle 102 and the current curvature of the vehicle 102 based onthe input data. Furthermore, the position modification circuitry 304projects a runway from the current position, where the runwaycorresponds to the current curvature and the runway distance from theinput data. In some examples, the position modification circuitry 304determines a starting position of the acquisition path based on therunway. For example, the starting position corresponds to the end of therunway, and the position modification circuitry 304 adjusts and/orotherwise updates the current position of the vehicle 102 to correspondto the starting position. In some examples, the path generation controlcircuitry 106 generates the acquisition path based on the updatedcurrent position instead of an actual current position of the vehicle102.

In some examples, the path generation control circuitry 106 includesmeans for adjusting. For example, the means for adjusting may beimplemented by the position modification circuitry 304. In someexamples, the position modification circuitry 304 may be implemented bymachine executable instructions such as that implemented by at leastblock 906 of FIG. 9 executed by processor circuitry, which may beimplemented by the example processor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 , theexample processor circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 , and/or the example FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA) circuitry 1300 of FIG. 13 . In otherexamples, the position modification circuitry 304 is implemented byother hardware logic circuitry, hardware implemented state machines,and/or any other combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Forexample, the position modification circuitry 304 may be implemented byat least one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry,discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a comparator, anoperational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured toperform the corresponding operation without executing software orfirmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3 , the threshold calculationcircuitry 306 calculates a threshold curvature (e.g., a limitingcurvature) and/or a threshold curvature rate (e.g., a limiting curvaturerate) based on the input data. In examples disclosed herein, thethreshold curvature corresponds to a highest curvature of a path alongwhich the vehicle 102 can travel given the current speed of the vehicle102, and the threshold curvature rate corresponds to a rate at which thevehicle 102 can change curvature at a given wheel angle. In thisexample, the threshold calculation circuitry 306 calculates thethreshold curvature using a simple bicycle model based on the machinewheelbase, the current speed of the vehicle 102, and the wheel anglerate from the input data. Furthermore, the threshold calculationcircuitry 306 calculates the threshold curvature rate by linearizing thesimple bicycle model at a wheel angle of zero degrees. In such examples,the threshold calculation circuitry 306 calculates a derivative of thelinearized simple bicycle model, where the derivative corresponds to thethreshold curvature rate. In some examples, the threshold calculationcircuitry 306 provides the threshold curvature and the thresholdcurvature rate to the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 forgenerating one or more acquisition paths based on the thresholdcurvature and/or the threshold curvature rate. In some examples, thethreshold calculation circuitry 306 provides the threshold curvatureand/or the threshold curvature rate to the path generation database 312for storage therein.

In some examples, the path generation control circuitry 106 includesmeans for calculating. For example, the means for calculating may beimplemented by the threshold calculation circuitry 306. In someexamples, the threshold calculation circuitry 306 may be implemented bymachine executable instructions such as that implemented by at leastblock 904 of FIG. 9 executed by processor circuitry, which may beimplemented by the example processor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 , theexample processor circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 , and/or the example FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA) circuitry 1300 of FIG. 13 . In otherexamples, the threshold calculation circuitry 306 is implemented byother hardware logic circuitry, hardware implemented state machines,and/or any other combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Forexample, the threshold calculation circuitry 306 may be implemented byat least one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry,discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a comparator, anoperational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured toperform the corresponding operation without executing software orfirmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3 , the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 generates one or more acquisition paths based on the inputdata and the target path of the vehicle 102. For example, theacquisition path generation circuitry 308 selects a first acquisitionpoint (e.g., an initial acquisition point, a starting acquisition point)on the target path. In some examples, the first acquisition point is apoint on the target path that is closest to the vehicle 102. Theacquisition path generation circuitry 308 generates a first candidateacquisition path from the current position of the vehicle to the firstacquisition point. In some examples, the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 generates the first candidate acquisition path using twocurves, where the two curves satisfy the threshold curvature and thethreshold curvature rate calculated by the threshold calculationcircuitry 306.

In some examples, the path generation control circuitry 106 includesmeans for generating. For example, the means for generating may beimplemented by the acquisition path generation circuitry 308. In someexamples, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 may beimplemented by machine executable instructions such as that implementedby at least blocks 908, 910, 912, 914, 922, 926, and 928 of FIG. 9executed by processor circuitry, which may be implemented by the exampleprocessor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 , the example processor circuitry1200 of FIG. 12 , and/or the example Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA) circuitry 1300 of FIG. 13 . In other examples, the acquisitionpath generation circuitry 308 is implemented by other hardware logiccircuitry, hardware implemented state machines, and/or any othercombination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, theacquisition path generation circuitry 308 may be implemented by at leastone or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry, discreteand/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a comparator, anoperational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured toperform the corresponding operation without executing software orfirmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

In some examples, in response to the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 being unable to generate the first candidate acquisitionpath between the current position and the first acquisition point thatsatisfies the threshold curvature and threshold curvature rate, theacquisition path generation circuitry 308 selects a second acquisitionpoint along the target path different from the first acquisition point.In such examples, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308generates a second candidate acquisition path between the currentposition of the vehicle 102 and the second acquisition point. In somesuch examples, the second acquisition point is further from the vehicle102 than the first acquisition point. In some examples, the acquisitionpath generation circuitry 308 copies a portion of the target path andadds the copied portion to an end of the second candidate acquisitionpath at the second acquisition point. In some examples, the copiedportion enables the second acquisition path to match the target path atthe second acquisition point, thus enabling smooth transition of thevehicle 102 from the second acquisition path to the target path.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3 , in response to the secondcandidate acquisition path being successful (e.g., satisfying thethreshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate), the acquisitionpath selection circuitry 310 determines whether the second candidateacquisition path is to be stored as a solution. For example, theacquisition path selection circuitry 310 calculates a path length of thesecond candidate acquisition path. In some examples, the acquisitionpath selection circuitry 310 determines whether the path length is lessthan a corresponding path length of a previous solution stored in thepath generation database 312. In response to determining that the pathlength of the second candidate acquisition path is less than thecorresponding path length of the previous solution, the acquisition pathselection circuitry 310 causes storage of the second candidateacquisition path in the path generation database 312 as a currentsolution. Similarly, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310 causesstorage of the second candidate acquisition path when there are noprevious solutions stored in the path generation database 312. In someexamples, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310 removes and/oroverwrites the previous solution when causing storage of the secondcandidate acquisition path as a current solution. As such, in someexamples, only one solution is stored in the path generation database312 at a time. Alternatively, in response to determining that the pathlength of the second candidate acquisition path is the same as orgreater than the path length of the previous solution, the secondcandidate acquisition is discarded.

In some examples, the path generation control circuitry 106 includesmeans for selecting. For example, the means for selecting may beimplemented by the acquisition path selection circuitry 310. In someexamples, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310 may beimplemented by machine executable instructions such as that implementedby at least blocks 916, 918, 920, and 924 of FIG. 9 executed byprocessor circuitry, which may be implemented by the example processorcircuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 , the example processor circuitry 1200 of FIG.12 , and/or the example Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuitry1300 of FIG. 13 . In other examples, the acquisition path selectioncircuitry 310 is implemented by other hardware logic circuitry, hardwareimplemented state machines, and/or any other combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. For example, the acquisition path selectioncircuitry 310 may be implemented by at least one or more hardwarecircuits (e.g., processor circuitry, discrete and/or integrated analogand/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logiccircuit, etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation withoutexecuting software or firmware, but other structures are likewiseappropriate.

In some examples, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308iteratively selects different acquisition points along the target pathuntil an iteration threshold has been reached. In some examples, theiteration threshold is a preset and/or predetermined value (e.g., 100iterations, 1000 iterations, etc.) stored in the path generation controlcircuitry 106. In other examples, the iteration threshold can beselected and/or modified via user input from the user interface 114 ofFIG. 1 , and the iteration threshold can be provided to the pathgeneration control circuitry 106 in the input data 316. In someexamples, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 generatescandidate acquisition paths for each of the different acquisitionpoints. In some examples, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310causes storage of one of the candidate acquisition paths having asmallest path length from the candidate acquisition paths. In otherexamples, a portion (e.g., all) of the candidate acquisition paths thatsatisfy the threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate arestored in the path generation database 312 as one or more exampleacquisition path solutions 318. In this example, the acquisition pathselection circuitry 310 provides the one or more acquisition pathsolutions 318 to the vehicle control circuitry 104 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2for use in generating the steering commands 210 of FIG. 2 .

While an example manner of implementing the path generation controlcircuitry 106 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 is illustrated in FIG. 3 , one or moreof the elements, processes, and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 3 may becombined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated, and/or implementedin any other way. Further, the example input interface circuitry 302,the example position modification circuitry 304, the example thresholdcalculation circuitry 306, the example acquisition path generationcircuitry 308, the example acquisition path selection circuitry 310, theexample path generation database 312 and/or, more generally, the examplepath generation control circuitry 106 of FIG. 3 may be implemented byhardware, software, firmware, and/or any combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example inputinterface circuitry 302, the example position modification circuitry304, the example threshold calculation circuitry 306, the exampleacquisition path generation circuitry 308, the example acquisition pathselection circuitry 310, the example path generation database 312,and/or, more generally, the example path generation control circuitry106, could be implemented by processor circuitry, analog circuit(s),digital circuit(s), logic circuit(s), programmable processor(s),programmable microcontroller(s), graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)),digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)), application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), and/orfield programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)) such as Field ProgrammableGate Arrays (FPGAs). When reading any of the apparatus or system claimsof this patent to cover a purely software and/or firmwareimplementation, at least one of the example input interface circuitry302, the example position modification circuitry 304, the examplethreshold calculation circuitry 306, the example acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308, the example acquisition path selectioncircuitry 310, and/or the example path generation database 312 is/arehereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computer readablestorage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatiledisk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc., including thesoftware and/or firmware. Further still, the example path generationcontrol circuitry 106 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 may include one or moreelements, processes, and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIG. 3 , and/or may include more than one of any or allof the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the example vehicle 102 of FIG. 1 . In theillustrated example of FIG. 4 , the vehicle 102 includes an examplewheelbase 402, an example wheel angle 404, and an example turn radius406 corresponding to a reciprocal of the curvature of the vehicle 102.The vehicle control circuitry 104 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 provides thewheelbase 402, the wheel angle 404, and a maximum wheel angle rate tothe path generation control circuitry 106 in the input data 316 of FIG.3 . In this example, the wheel angle 404 corresponds to a maximum wheelangle that can be achieved by the vehicle 102 based on a current speedof the vehicle 102, and the maximum wheel angle rate corresponds to arate at which the wheel angle 404 can change per unit of time (e.g., persecond). In this example, the wheelbase 402 corresponds to a distancebetween the front wheel 116 and the rear wheel 118 of the vehicle 102.In some examples, based on Equation 1 below and assuming a simplebicycle model, the threshold calculation circuitry 306 of the pathgeneration control circuitry 106 of FIG. 3 calculates the turn radius406 and, thus, the threshold curvature by calculating a tangent of thewheel angle 404 and dividing the result by the wheelbase 402.Furthermore, based on Equation 2 below, the threshold calculationcircuitry 306 calculates the threshold curvature rate by dividing themaximum wheel angle rate by the wheelbase 402 and the current speed ofthe vehicle 102. In examples disclosed herein, the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 generates candidate acquisition paths based onthe threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate calculated bythe threshold calculation circuitry 306.

$\begin{matrix}{{{Threshold}{Curvature}} = \frac{\tan\left( {{Wheel}{Angle}} \right)}{Wheelbase}} & {{Equation}1}\end{matrix}$ $\begin{matrix}{{{Threshold}{Curvature}{Rate}} = \frac{{Wheel}{Angle}{Rate}}{Wheelbase \times {Current}{Speed}}} & {{Equation}2}\end{matrix}$

FIG. 5 is an example plot 500 illustrating example acquisition points502 along an example target path 504. In the illustrated example of FIG.5 , the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 of FIG. 3 selects theacquisition points 502 and generates acquisition paths corresponding theacquisition points 502. In some examples, the acquisition path selectioncircuitry 310 of FIG. 3 calculates path lengths of the generatedacquisition paths, and determines whether to cause storage of theacquisition paths based on the path lengths.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 5 , the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 obtains the target path 504, the current position of thevehicle 102, the current heading of the vehicle 102, the current speedof the vehicle 102, and the current wheel angle from the input data 316of FIG. 3 . In this example, the target path 504 is a straight line. Inother examples, the target path 504 can be any other shape and/or lengthinstead. In this example, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308selects a first example acquisition point 502A along the target path504, where the first acquisition point 502A corresponds to a point onthe target path 504 closest to the vehicle 102.

In some examples, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308generates and/or attempts to generate a first candidate acquisition pathbetween the current position of the vehicle 102 and the firstacquisition point 502A that satisfies the threshold curvature and thethreshold curvature rate determined by the threshold calculationcircuitry 306 of FIG. 3 . In some examples, the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 generates the first candidate acquisition pathusing two curves. For example, the acquisition path generation circuitry308 generates an objective function based on reducing a path length ofthe first candidate acquisition path, and the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 provides the current position and the firstacquisition point 502A as constraints for a start position and an endposition, respectively, of the first candidate acquisition path.Furthermore, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 provides thethreshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate as constraints forthe curvature and the curvature rate of the two curves of the firstcandidate acquisition path. The acquisition path generation circuitry308 reduces (e.g., minimizes) the objective function based on theconstraints to generate a list of points that define the first candidateacquisition path.

In this example, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 is unableto generate the first candidate acquisition path that satisfies each ofthe constraints. When the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 isunsuccessful in generating the first candidate acquisition pathcorresponding to the first acquisition point 502A, the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 selects a second example acquisition point 502Bon the target path 504, where the second acquisition point 502B isfurther from the vehicle 102 than the first acquisition point 502A. Insuch examples, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 providesthe second acquisition point 502B as a constraint for an the endposition of a second candidate acquisition path, and the acquisitionpath generation circuitry 308 generates and/or attempts to generate thesecond candidate acquisition path based on the objective function andthe constraints. Additionally, in response to the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 being unable to generate the second acquisitionpath that satisfies the constraints, the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 selects a third example acquisition point 502C on thetarget path 504 and generates and/or attempts to generate a thirdcandidate acquisition path based on the third acquisition point 502C.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 5 , the first, second, and thirdcandidate acquisition paths corresponding to the first, second, andthird acquisition points 502A, 502B, 502C are unsuccessful (e.g., areunable to satisfy the constraints of the objective function).Conversely, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 successfullygenerates the fourth, fifth, and sixth candidate acquisition pathscorresponding to the fourth, fifth, and sixth acquisition points 502D,502E, 502F, respectively, that satisfy the constraints of the objectivefunction.

In some examples, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310calculates path lengths for successful ones of the candidate acquisitionpaths (e.g., the fourth, fifth, and sixth candidate acquisition paths).In some such examples, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310selects one or more of the acquisition path solutions 318 of FIG. 3based on the calculated path lengths. For example, in response to theacquisition path generation circuitry 308 generating the fourthcandidate acquisition path and determining that the fourth candidateacquisition path satisfies the constraints, the acquisition pathselection circuitry 310 calculates a fourth path length of the fourthcandidate acquisition path. Furthermore, in response to the acquisitionpath generation circuitry 308 generating the fifth candidate acquisitionpath and determining that the fifth candidate acquisition path satisfiesthe constraints, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310 calculatesa fifth path length of the fifth candidate acquisition path. In someexamples, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310 selects thecandidate acquisition path corresponding to a lesser one of the pathlengths as the acquisition path solution 318. For example, theacquisition path selection circuitry 310 compares the fifth path lengthto the fourth path length. In response to determining that the fifthpath length is less than the fourth path length, the acquisition pathselection circuitry 310 selects the fifth candidate acquisition path asthe acquisition path solution 318.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 5 , the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 iteratively selects new acquisitions points until aniterations threshold is reached, and generates and/or attempts togenerate candidate acquisition paths corresponding to the selectedacquisition points. In some examples, the acquisition path selectioncircuitry 310 selects the acquisition path solution 318 corresponding toone of the candidate acquisition paths having the shortest path length.In the illustrated example of FIG. 5 , the acquisition path selectioncircuitry 310 selects an example solution 508 corresponding to the sixthcandidate acquisition path, and provides the solution 508 to the vehiclecontrol circuitry 104 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 for use in generating thesteering commands 210 of FIG. 2 .

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate example plots 600A, 600B, 600C includinga first example acquisition path 602, a second example acquisition path604, and a third example acquisition path 606, respectively, generatedfor the example vehicle 102 of FIG. 4 . In the illustrated examples of6A, 6B, and 6C, an initial position and an initial heading of thevehicle 102 is the same, but an initial wheel angle of the front wheel116 is different. For example, in the illustrated example of FIG. 6A,the front wheel 116 is turning to the right at a first wheel angle, andthe acquisition path generation circuitry 308 generates the firstacquisition path 602 based on the first wheel angle. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 6B, the front wheel 116 is substantially straight at asecond wheel angle, and the acquisition path generation circuitry 308generates the second acquisition path 604 based on the second wheelangle. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6C, the front wheel 116 isturning to the left at a third wheel angle, and the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 generates the third acquisition path 606 basedon the third wheel angle.

FIG. 6D illustrates each of the first, second, and third acquisitionpaths 602, 604, 606 having the same initial position and initialheading. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6D, the first acquisitionpath 602 intersects the target path 504 at a first example point 608,the second acquisition path 604 intersects the target path 504 at anexample second point 610, and the third acquisition path 606 intersectsthe target path 504 at an example third point 612. In this example, thesecond point 610 is closer to the vehicle 102 compared to the thirdpoint 612, and the first point 608 is closer to the vehicle 102 comparedto both the second and third points 610, 612. As such, in this example,the first acquisition path 602 has a shorter path length compared to thesecond and third acquisition paths 604, 606. In some examples, thefirst, second, and third acquisition paths 602, 604, 606 match acurvature of the target path 504 at the first, second, and third points608, 610, 612, respectively, to enable smooth transition of the vehicle102 to the target path 504.

FIG. 7 is an example plot 700 illustrating an example acquisition path702 having an example runway portion 704 and an example copy portion706. In the illustrated example of FIG. 7 , the vehicle 102 of FIG. 4 ispositioned at an example current position (e.g., an actual currentposition) 708. In this example, the position modification circuitry 304of FIG. 3 adjusts the current position 708 by adding the example runwayportion 704 to the current position 708. For example, the positionmodification circuitry 304 determines a desired runway distance, acurrent curvature of the vehicle 102, and a current heading of thevehicle 102 based on the input data 316 of FIG. 3 . In some examples,the desired runway distance is selected based on user input via the userinterface 114 of FIG. 1 , or is predetermined and/or otherwisepreprogrammed in the path generation control circuitry 106 of FIG. 3 .In this example, the position modification circuitry 304 projects therunway portion 704 forward from the current position 708 by the desiredrunway distance, such that the runway portion 704 matches a direction ofthe current heading and/or the current curvature of the vehicle 102. Inthis example, the position modification circuitry 304 determines anexample projected current position 710 based on the runway portion 704,and the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 of FIG. 3 generatesthe acquisition path 702 based on the projected current position 710,instead of the actual current position 708, of the vehicle 102. In someexamples, the runway portion 704 enables the vehicle 102 to track thecurrent curvature for a period of time before tracking the acquisitionpath 702, thus enabling smooth transition of the vehicle 102 to theacquisition path 702 (e.g., without sudden and/or significant changes incurvature).

In the illustrated example of FIG. 7 , the acquisition path 702intersects the target path 504 at a first example end point 712. In thisexample, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 copies a portionof the target path 504. In some examples, a copy distance of the copyportion 706 is selected based on the user input via the user interface114, or is predetermined and/or otherwise preprogrammed in the pathgeneration control circuitry 106. In this example, the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 adds the copy portion 706 to the acquisitionpath 702 at the first end point 712, such that the acquisition path 702terminates at a second example end point 714 instead of the first endpoint 712. In some examples, the acquisition path generation circuitry308 adds the copy portion 706 to the acquisition path 702 to ensure thatthe acquisition path 702 matches the target path 504 at the first endpoint 712.

A flowchart representative of example hardware logic circuitry, machinereadable instructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the vehicle control circuitry 104of FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 8 . The machine readable instructions may beone or more executable programs or portion(s) of an executable programfor execution by processor circuitry, such as the processor circuitry1012 shown in the example processor platform 1000 discussed below inconnection with FIG. 10 and/or the example processor circuitry discussedbelow in connection with FIGS. 12 and/or 13 . The program may beembodied in software stored on one or more non-transitory computerreadable storage media such as a CD, a floppy disk, a hard disk drive(HDD), a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, a volatile memory (e.g., Random AccessMemory (RAM) of any type, etc.), or a non-volatile memory (e.g., FLASHmemory, an HDD, etc.) associated with processor circuitry located in oneor more hardware devices, but the entire program and/or parts thereofcould alternatively be executed by one or more hardware devices otherthan the processor circuitry and/or embodied in firmware or dedicatedhardware. The machine readable instructions may be distributed acrossmultiple hardware devices and/or executed by two or more hardwaredevices (e.g., a server and a client hardware device). For example, theclient hardware device may be implemented by an endpoint client hardwaredevice (e.g., a hardware device associated with a user) or anintermediate client hardware device (e.g., a radio access network (RAN)gateway that may facilitate communication between a server and anendpoint client hardware device). Similarly, the non-transitory computerreadable storage media may include one or more mediums located in one ormore hardware devices. Further, although the example program isdescribed with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8 , manyother methods of implementing the example vehicle control circuitry 104may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of theblocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may bechanged, eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any orall of the blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits(e.g., processor circuitry, discrete and/or integrated analog and/ordigital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, a comparator, anoperational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured toperform the corresponding operation without executing software orfirmware. The processor circuitry may be distributed in differentnetwork locations and/or local to one or more hardware devices (e.g., asingle-core processor (e.g., a single core central processor unit(CPU)), a multi-core processor (e.g., a multi-core CPU), etc.) in asingle machine, multiple processors distributed across multiple serversof a server rack, multiple processors distributed across one or moreserver racks, a CPU and/or a FPGA located in the same package (e.g., thesame integrated circuit (IC) package or in two or more separatehousings, etc).

The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in oneor more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmentedformat, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc.Machine readable instructions as described herein may be stored as dataor a data structure (e.g., as portions of instructions, code,representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create,manufacture, and/or produce machine executable instructions. Forexample, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and storedon one or more storage devices and/or computing devices (e.g., servers)located at the same or different locations of a network or collection ofnetworks (e.g., in the cloud, in edge devices, etc.). The machinereadable instructions may require one or more of installation,modification, adaptation, updating, combining, supplementing,configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution,reassignment, compilation, etc., in order to make them directlyreadable, interpretable, and/or executable by a computing device and/orother machine. For example, the machine readable instructions may bestored in multiple parts, which are individually compressed, encrypted,and/or stored on separate computing devices, wherein the parts whendecrypted, decompressed, and/or combined form a set of machineexecutable instructions that implement one or more operations that maytogether form a program such as that described herein.

In another example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in astate in which they may be read by processor circuitry, but requireaddition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a softwaredevelopment kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc.,in order to execute the machine readable instructions on a particularcomputing device or other device. In another example, the machinereadable instructions may need to be configured (e.g., settings stored,data input, network addresses recorded, etc.) before the machinereadable instructions and/or the corresponding program(s) can beexecuted in whole or in part. Thus, machine readable media, as usedherein, may include machine readable instructions and/or program(s)regardless of the particular format or state of the machine readableinstructions and/or program(s) when stored or otherwise at rest or intransit.

The machine readable instructions described herein can be represented byany past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language,programming language, etc. For example, the machine readableinstructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C,C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language(HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

As mentioned above, the example operations of FIG. 8 may be implementedusing executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readableinstructions) stored on one or more non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable media such as optical storage devices, magnetic storagedevices, an HDD, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a CD, a DVD,a cache, a RAM of any type, a register, and/or any other storage deviceor storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g.,for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, fortemporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As usedherein, the terms non-transitory computer readable medium andnon-transitory computer readable storage medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are usedherein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any formof “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising,including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation ofany kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc.,may be present without falling outside the scope of the correspondingclaim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is usedas the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it isopen-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including”are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form suchas A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as(1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) Bwith C, or (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context ofdescribing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at leastone A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context ofdescribing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at leastone A and at least one B. As used herein in the context of describingthe performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions,activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B” isintended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least oneA, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B.Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performanceor execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/orsteps, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer toimplementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B,or (3) at least one A and at least one B.

As used herein, singular references (e.g., “a”, “an”, “first”, “second”,etc.) do not exclude a plurality. The term “a” or “an” object, as usedherein, refers to one or more of that object. The terms “a” (or “an”),“one or more”, and “at least one” are used interchangeably herein.Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means,elements or method actions may be implemented by, e.g., the same entityor object. Additionally, although individual features may be included indifferent examples or claims, these may possibly be combined, and theinclusion in different examples or claims does not imply that acombination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions and/or example operations 800 that may be executed and/orinstantiated by the vehicle control circuitry 104 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 tocontrol the vehicle 102 of FIG. 1 . The machine readable instructionsand/or operations 800 of FIG. 8 begin at block 802, at which the vehiclecontrol circuitry 104 obtains sensor data from the sensor 110 of FIG. 1. For example, the example vehicle data interface circuitry 202 of FIG.2 is communicatively coupled to the sensor 110 to receive and/orotherwise obtain the sensor data therefrom. In some examples, the sensordata is indicative of a current wheel angle of the front and/or rearwheels 116, 118 of FIG. 1 , maximum wheel angles in a leftward and arightward direction, and/or a wheel angle rate of the vehicle 102.

At block 804, the example vehicle control circuitry 104 obtains GPS datafrom the GPS receiver 112 of FIG. 1 . For example, the vehicle datainterface circuitry 202 is communicatively coupled to the GPS receiver112 to receive and/or otherwise obtain the GPS data therefrom. In someexamples, the GPS data is indicative of a current position, a currentheading, and/or a current speed of the vehicle 102.

At block 806, the example vehicle control circuitry 104 obtains userinput data from the user interface 114 of FIG. 1 . For example, thevehicle data interface circuitry 202 is communicatively coupled to theuser interface 114 to receive and/or otherwise obtain the user inputdata therefrom. In some examples, the user input data includes a targetpath of the vehicle selected from one or more guidance paths stored inthe vehicle data database 206 of FIG. 2 , and/or includes a wheelbase ofthe vehicle 102.

At block 808, the example vehicle control circuitry 104 determinesvehicle data based on the sensor data, the GPS data, and/or the userinput data. For example, the vehicle data interface circuitry 202determines the vehicle data including the current wheel angle, themaximum wheel angles in the leftward and the rightward directions, thewheel angle rate, the current position, the current heading, the currentspeed, the target path, and/or the wheelbase of the vehicle 102.

At block 810, the example vehicle control circuitry 104 provides thevehicle data to the path generation control circuitry 106 of FIGS. 1, 2, and/or 3. For example, the example network interface circuitry 208 ofFIG. 2 is communicatively coupled to the path generation controlcircuitry 106 to provide the vehicle data thereto for use in determiningan acquisition path for the vehicle 102.

At block 812, the example vehicle control circuitry 104 obtains pathdata from the path generation control circuitry 106. For example, thenetwork interface circuitry 208 obtains the path data generated by thepath generation control circuitry 106 based on the vehicle data. In someexamples, the path data includes an acquisition path along which thevehicle 102 can travel to reach the target path.

At block 814, the example vehicle control circuitry 104 generates thesteering commands 210 of FIG. 2 based on the path data. For example, theexample guidance control circuitry 204 of FIG. 2 generates the steeringcommands 210 based on the target path and the acquisition path from thepath data. In some examples, the steering commands 210 cause steering ofthe front and rear wheels 116, 118 by controlling an angle at which thewheels 116, 118 turn and/or a rotation speed of the wheels 116, 118.

A flowchart representative of example hardware logic circuitry, machinereadable instructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the path generation controlcircuitry 106 of FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 9 . The machine readableinstructions may be one or more executable programs or portion(s) of anexecutable program for execution by processor circuitry, such as theprocessor circuitry 1112 shown in the example processor platform 1100discussed below in connection with FIG. 11 and/or the example processorcircuitry discussed below in connection with FIGS. 12 and/or 13 . Theprogram may be embodied in software stored on one or more non-transitorycomputer readable storage media such as a CD, a floppy disk, a hard diskdrive (HDD), a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, a volatile memory (e.g., RandomAccess Memory (RAM) of any type, etc.), or a non-volatile memory (e.g.,FLASH memory, an HDD, etc.) associated with processor circuitry locatedin one or more hardware devices, but the entire program and/or partsthereof could alternatively be executed by one or more hardware devicesother than the processor circuitry and/or embodied in firmware ordedicated hardware. The machine readable instructions may be distributedacross multiple hardware devices and/or executed by two or more hardwaredevices (e.g., a server and a client hardware device). For example, theclient hardware device may be implemented by an endpoint client hardwaredevice (e.g., a hardware device associated with a user) or anintermediate client hardware device (e.g., a radio access network (RAN)gateway that may facilitate communication between a server and anendpoint client hardware device). Similarly, the non-transitory computerreadable storage media may include one or more mediums located in one ormore hardware devices. Further, although the example program isdescribed with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 9 , manyother methods of implementing the example path generation controlcircuitry 106 may alternatively be used. For example, the order ofexecution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocksdescribed may be changed, eliminated, or combined. Additionally oralternatively, any or all of the blocks may be implemented by one ormore hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry, discrete and/orintegrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, acomparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.)structured to perform the corresponding operation without executingsoftware or firmware. The processor circuitry may be distributed indifferent network locations and/or local to one or more hardware devices(e.g., a single-core processor (e.g., a single core central processorunit (CPU)), a multi-core processor (e.g., a multi-core CPU), etc.) in asingle machine, multiple processors distributed across multiple serversof a server rack, multiple processors distributed across one or moreserver racks, a CPU and/or a FPGA located in the same package (e.g., thesame integrated circuit (IC) package or in two or more separatehousings, etc).

The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in oneor more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmentedformat, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc.Machine readable instructions as described herein may be stored as dataor a data structure (e.g., as portions of instructions, code,representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create,manufacture, and/or produce machine executable instructions. Forexample, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and storedon one or more storage devices and/or computing devices (e.g., servers)located at the same or different locations of a network or collection ofnetworks (e.g., in the cloud, in edge devices, etc.). The machinereadable instructions may require one or more of installation,modification, adaptation, updating, combining, supplementing,configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution,reassignment, compilation, etc., in order to make them directlyreadable, interpretable, and/or executable by a computing device and/orother machine. For example, the machine readable instructions may bestored in multiple parts, which are individually compressed, encrypted,and/or stored on separate computing devices, wherein the parts whendecrypted, decompressed, and/or combined form a set of machineexecutable instructions that implement one or more operations that maytogether form a program such as that described herein.

In another example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in astate in which they may be read by processor circuitry, but requireaddition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a softwaredevelopment kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc.,in order to execute the machine readable instructions on a particularcomputing device or other device. In another example, the machinereadable instructions may need to be configured (e.g., settings stored,data input, network addresses recorded, etc.) before the machinereadable instructions and/or the corresponding program(s) can beexecuted in whole or in part. Thus, machine readable media, as usedherein, may include machine readable instructions and/or program(s)regardless of the particular format or state of the machine readableinstructions and/or program(s) when stored or otherwise at rest or intransit.

The machine readable instructions described herein can be represented byany past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language,programming language, etc. For example, the machine readableinstructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C,C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language(HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

As mentioned above, the example operations of FIG. 9 may be implementedusing executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readableinstructions) stored on one or more non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable media such as optical storage devices, magnetic storagedevices, an HDD, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a CD, a DVD,a cache, a RAM of any type, a register, and/or any other storage deviceor storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g.,for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, fortemporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As usedherein, the terms non-transitory computer readable medium andnon-transitory computer readable storage medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions and/or example operations 900 that may be executed and/orinstantiated by the path generation control circuitry 106 of FIGS. 1, 2, and/or 3 to generate acquisition paths for the vehicle 102 of FIG. 1 .The machine readable instructions and/or operations 900 of FIG. 9 beginat block 902, at which the example path generation control circuitry 106obtains the input data 316 of FIG. 3 from the example vehicle controlcircuitry 104 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 . For example, the example inputinterface circuitry 302 of FIG. 3 is communicatively coupled to theexample network interface circuitry 208 of FIG. 2 to receive and/orotherwise obtain the input data 316 therefrom, where the input dataincludes a current wheel angle, a maximum wheel angles in leftward andrightward directions, a wheel angle rate, a current position, a currentheading, a current speed, a target path, and/or a wheelbase of thevehicle 102.

At block 904, the example path generation control circuitry 106calculates a threshold curvature and a threshold curvature rate based onthe input data 316. For example, the example threshold calculationcircuitry 306 of FIG. 3 calculates the threshold curvature using asimple bicycle model based on the wheelbase, the current speed, and thewheel angle rate from the input data 316, and calculates the thresholdcurvature rate by linearizing the simple bicycle model at a wheel angleof zero degrees. In some examples, the threshold curvature correspondsto a largest curvature of a path along which the vehicle 102 can travelgiven the current speed of the vehicle 102, and the threshold curvaturerate corresponds to a rate at which the vehicle 102 can change curvaturefor the current wheel angle.

At block 906, the example path generation control circuitry 106 adjuststhe current position of the vehicle 102 based on a runway. For example,the example position modification circuitry 304 of FIG. 3 adjusts thecurrent position by determining a current curvature of the vehicle 102based on in the input data 316, and projecting the runway from thecurrent position based on the current curvature and a selected runwaydistance. In some examples, the position modification circuitry 304updates the current position of the vehicle 102 for use in generating anacquisition path therefrom.

At block 908, the example path generation control circuitry 106 selectsan acquisition point on the target path. For example, the exampleacquisition path generation circuitry 308 of FIG. 3 selects theacquisition point on the target path that is closest to the vehicle 102.

At block 910, the example path generation control circuitry 106determines whether an iterations threshold has been reached. Forexample, in response to the acquisition path generation circuitry 308determining that the iterations threshold has been reached (e.g., block910 returns a result of YES), control proceeds to block 924.Alternatively, in response to the acquisition path generation circuitry308 determining that the iterations threshold has not been reached(e.g., block 910 returns a result of NO), control proceeds to block 912.

At block 912, the example path generation control circuitry 106generates a candidate acquisition path using two curves. For example,the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 generates and/or attemptsto generate the candidate acquisition path from the current position ofthe vehicle 102 to the selected acquisition point.

At block 914, the example path generation control circuitry 106determines whether the candidate acquisition path is successful. In someexamples, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308 determineswhether the candidate acquisition path is successful based on whetherthe candidate acquisition path satisfies the threshold curvature and thethreshold curvature rate. In response to the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 determining that the candidate acquisition path issuccessful (e.g., block 914 returns a result of YES), control proceedsto block 916. Alternatively, in response to the acquisition pathgeneration circuitry 308 determining that the candidate acquisition pathis not successful (e.g., block 914 returns a result of NO), controlproceeds to block 922.

At block 916, the example path generation control circuitry 106calculates a path length of the candidate acquisition path. For example,the example acquisition path selection circuitry 310 of FIG. 3calculates the path length of the candidate acquisition path.

At block 918, the example path generation control circuitry 106determines whether the path length is less than previous path lengths ofone or more previous solutions. For example, in response to theacquisition path selection circuitry 310 determining that the pathlength is less than the previous path lengths and/or in response todetermining that there are no previous solutions (e.g., block 918returns a result of YES), control proceeds to block 920. Alternatively,in response to the acquisition path selection circuitry 310 determiningthat the path length is not less than the previous path lengths (e.g.,block 918 returns a result of NO), control proceeds to block 922.

At block 920, the example path generation control circuitry 106 storesthe candidate acquisition path as a solution. For example, theacquisition path selection circuitry 310 causes storage of the candidateacquisition path as a solution in the example path generation database312 of FIG. 3 . In some examples, the acquisition path selectioncircuitry 310 overwrites the one or more previous solutions with thecandidate acquisition path, such that one solution is stored in the pathgeneration database 312. In other examples, the acquisition pathselection circuitry 310 causes storage of the candidate acquisition pathwith the one or more previous solutions and/or with a portion of the oneor more previous solutions.

At block 922, the example path generation control circuitry 106 adjuststhe acquisition point. For example, the acquisition path generationcircuitry 308 selects a new acquisition point on the target path, wherethe new acquisition point is different from previous acquisition pointsselected by the acquisition path generation circuitry 308.

At block 924, the example path generation control circuitry 106determines whether at least one solution has been generated. Forexample, the acquisition path selection circuitry 310 determines whetherthe at least one solution has been generated based on whether at leastone candidate acquisition path is stored in the path generation database312. In response to the acquisition path selection circuitry 310determining that at least one solution has been generated (e.g., block924 returns a result of YES), control proceeds to block 926.Alternatively, in response to the acquisition path selection circuitry310 determining that no solutions have been generated (e.g., block 924returns a result of NO), the process ends.

At block 926, the example path generation control circuitry 106generates an acquisition path corresponding to the at least onesolution. For example, the acquisition path generation circuitry 308generates a list of points identifying locations of the acquisition pathcorresponding to the at least one solution stored in the path generationdatabase 312.

At block 928, the example path generation control circuitry 106 adds aportion of the target path to the acquisition path. For example, theacquisition path generation circuitry 308 copies a portion of the targetpath and adds the copied portion to an end of the acquisition path atthe acquisition point.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1000structured to execute and/or instantiate the machine readableinstructions and/or operations of FIG. 8 to implement the vehiclecontrol circuitry 104 of FIG. 2 . The processor platform 1000 can be,for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, aself-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., acell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CDplayer, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, apersonal video recorder, a set top box, a headset (e.g., an augmentedreality (AR) headset, a virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.) or otherwearable device, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 1000 of the illustrated example includesprocessor circuitry 1012. The processor circuitry 1012 of theillustrated example is hardware. For example, the processor circuitry1012 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logiccircuits, FPGAs microprocessors, CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, and/ormicrocontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer. The processorcircuitry 1012 may be implemented by one or more semiconductor based(e.g., silicon based) devices. In this example, the processor circuitry1012 implements the vehicle data interface circuitry 202, the guidancecontrol circuitry 204, and the network interface circuitry 208.

The processor circuitry 1012 of the illustrated example includes a localmemory 1013 (e.g., a cache, registers, etc.). The processor circuitry1012 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memoryincluding a volatile memory 1014 and a non-volatile memory 1016 by a bus1018. The volatile memory 1014 may be implemented by Synchronous DynamicRandom Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM),RAIVIBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM®), and/or any other typeof RAM device. The non-volatile memory 1016 may be implemented by flashmemory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to themain memory 1014, 1016 of the illustrated example is controlled by amemory controller 1017.

The processor platform 1000 of the illustrated example also includesinterface circuitry 1020. The interface circuitry 1020 may beimplemented by hardware in accordance with any type of interfacestandard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB)interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a near field communication (NFC)interface, a PCI interface, and/or a PCIe interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1022 are connectedto the interface circuitry 1020. The input device(s) 1022 permit(s) auser to enter data and/or commands into the processor circuitry 1012.The input device(s) 1022 can be implemented by, for example, an audiosensor, a microphone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, amouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, an isopoint device,and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1024 are also connected to the interfacecircuitry 1020 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1024can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, an in-place switching(IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printer,and/or speaker. The interface circuitry 1020 of the illustrated example,thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip,and/or graphics processor circuitry such as a GPU.

The interface circuitry 1020 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a networkinterface circuitry to facilitate exchange of data with externalmachines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) by a network 1026. Thecommunication can be by, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxialcable system, a satellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, acellular telephone system, an optical connection, etc.

The processor platform 1000 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1028 to store software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1028 include magnetic storagedevices, optical storage devices, floppy disk drives, HDDs, CDs, Blu-raydisk drives, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) systems, solidstate storage devices such as flash memory devices, and DVD drives.

The machine executable instructions 1032, which may be implemented bythe machine readable instructions of FIG. 8 , may be stored in the massstorage device 1028, in the volatile memory 1014, in the non-volatilememory 1016, and/or on a removable non-transitory computer readablestorage medium such as a CD or DVD.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1100structured to execute and/or instantiate the machine readableinstructions and/or operations of FIG. 9 to implement the pathgeneration control circuitry 106 of FIG. 3 . The processor platform 1100can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, aself-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., acell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CDplayer, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, apersonal video recorder, a set top box, a headset (e.g., an augmentedreality (AR) headset, a virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.) or otherwearable device, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example includesprocessor circuitry 1112. The processor circuitry 1112 of theillustrated example is hardware. For example, the processor circuitry1112 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logiccircuits, FPGAs microprocessors, CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, and/ormicrocontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer. The processorcircuitry 1112 may be implemented by one or more semiconductor based(e.g., silicon based) devices. In this example, the processor circuitry1112 implements the input interface circuitry 302, the positionmodification circuitry 304, the threshold calculation circuitry 306, theacquisition path generation circuitry 308, and the acquisition pathselection circuitry 310.

The processor circuitry 1112 of the illustrated example includes a localmemory 1113 (e.g., a cache, registers, etc.). The processor circuitry1112 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memoryincluding a volatile memory 1114 and a non-volatile memory 1116 by a bus1118. The volatile memory 1114 may be implemented by Synchronous DynamicRandom Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM),RAIVIBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM®), and/or any other typeof RAM device. The non-volatile memory 1116 may be implemented by flashmemory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to themain memory 1114 , 1116 of the illustrated example is controlled by amemory controller 1117.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example also includesinterface circuitry 1120. The interface circuitry 1120 may beimplemented by hardware in accordance with any type of interfacestandard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB)interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a near field communication (NFC)interface, a PCI interface, and/or a PCIe interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1122 are connectedto the interface circuitry 1120. The input device(s) 1122 permit(s) auser to enter data and/or commands into the processor circuitry 1112.The input device(s) 1122 can be implemented by, for example, an audiosensor, a microphone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, amouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, an isopoint device,and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1124 are also connected to the interfacecircuitry 1120 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1124 canbe implemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, an in-place switching(IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printer,and/or speaker. The interface circuitry 1120 of the illustrated example,thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip,and/or graphics processor circuitry such as a GPU.

The interface circuitry 1120 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a networkinterface circuitry to facilitate exchange of data with externalmachines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) by a network 1126. Thecommunication can be by, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxialcable system, a satellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, acellular telephone system, an optical connection, etc.

The processor platform 1100 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1128 to store software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1128 include magnetic storagedevices, optical storage devices, floppy disk drives, HDDs, CDs, Blu-raydisk drives, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) systems, solidstate storage devices such as flash memory devices, and DVD drives.

The machine executable instructions 1132, which may be implemented bythe machine readable instructions of FIG. 9 , may be stored in the massstorage device 1128, in the volatile memory 1114 , in the non-volatilememory 1116, and/or on a removable non-transitory computer readablestorage medium such as a CD or DVD.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the processorcircuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 and/or the processor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11. In this example, the processor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 and/or theprocessor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 is/are implemented by amicroprocessor 1200. For example, the microprocessor 1200 may implementmulti-core hardware circuitry such as a CPU, a DSP, a GPU, an XPU, etc.Although it may include any number of example cores 1202 (e.g., 1 core),the microprocessor 1200 of this example is a multi-core semiconductordevice including N cores. The cores 1202 of the microprocessor 1200 mayoperate independently or may cooperate to execute machine readableinstructions. For example, machine code corresponding to a firmwareprogram, an embedded software program, or a software program may beexecuted by one of the cores 1202 or may be executed by multiple ones ofthe cores 1202 at the same or different times. In some examples, themachine code corresponding to the firmware program, the embeddedsoftware program, or the software program is split into threads andexecuted in parallel by two or more of the cores 1202. The softwareprogram may correspond to a portion or all of the machine readableinstructions and/or operations represented by the flowcharts of FIGS. 8and/or 9 .

The cores 1202 may communicate by an example bus 1204. In some examples,the bus 1204 may implement a communication bus to effectuatecommunication associated with one(s) of the cores 1202. For example, thebus 1204 may implement at least one of an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)bus, a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus, a PCI bus, or a PCIe bus.Additionally or alternatively, the bus 1204 may implement any other typeof computing or electrical bus. The cores 1202 may obtain data,instructions, and/or signals from one or more external devices byexample interface circuitry 1206. The cores 1202 may output data,instructions, and/or signals to the one or more external devices by theinterface circuitry 1206. Although the cores 1202 of this exampleinclude example local memory 1220 (e.g., Level 1 (L1) cache that may besplit into an L1 data cache and an L1 instruction cache), themicroprocessor 1200 also includes example shared memory 1210 that may beshared by the cores (e.g., Level 2 (L2_cache)) for high-speed access todata and/or instructions. Data and/or instructions may be transferred(e.g., shared) by writing to and/or reading from the shared memory 1210.The local memory 1220 of each of the cores 1202 and the shared memory1210 may be part of a hierarchy of storage devices including multiplelevels of cache memory and the main memory (e.g., the main memory 1014,1016 of FIG. 10 and/or the main memory 1114 , 1116 of FIG. 11 ).Typically, higher levels of memory in the hierarchy exhibit lower accesstime and have smaller storage capacity than lower levels of memory.Changes in the various levels of the cache hierarchy are managed (e.g.,coordinated) by a cache coherency policy.

Each core 1202 may be referred to as a CPU, DSP, GPU, etc., or any othertype of hardware circuitry. Each core 1202 includes control unitcircuitry 1214, arithmetic and logic (AL) circuitry (sometimes referredto as an ALU) 1216, a plurality of registers 1218, the L1 cache 1220,and an example bus 1222. Other structures may be present. For example,each core 1202 may include vector unit circuitry, single instructionmultiple data (SIMD) unit circuitry, load/store unit (LSU) circuitry,branch/jump unit circuitry, floating-point unit (FPU) circuitry, etc.The control unit circuitry 1214 includes semiconductor-based circuitsstructured to control (e.g., coordinate) data movement within thecorresponding core 1202. The AL circuitry 1216 includessemiconductor-based circuits structured to perform one or moremathematic and/or logic operations on the data within the correspondingcore 1202. The AL circuitry 1216 of some examples performs integer basedoperations. In other examples, the AL circuitry 1216 also performsfloating point operations. In yet other examples, the AL circuitry 1216may include first AL circuitry that performs integer based operationsand second AL circuitry that performs floating point operations. In someexamples, the AL circuitry 1216 may be referred to as an ArithmeticLogic Unit (ALU). The registers 1218 are semiconductor-based structuresto store data and/or instructions such as results of one or more of theoperations performed by the AL circuitry 1216 of the corresponding core1202. For example, the registers 1218 may include vector register(s),SIMD register(s), general purpose register(s), flag register(s), segmentregister(s), machine specific register(s), instruction pointerregister(s), control register(s), debug register(s), memory managementregister(s), machine check register(s), etc. The registers 1218 may bearranged in a bank as shown in FIG. 12 . Alternatively, the registers1218 may be organized in any other arrangement, format, or structureincluding distributed throughout the core 1202 to shorten access time.The bus 1222 may implement at least one of an I2C bus, a SPI bus, a PCIbus, or a PCIe bus

Each core 1202 and/or, more generally, the microprocessor 1200 mayinclude additional and/or alternate structures to those shown anddescribed above. For example, one or more clock circuits, one or morepower supplies, one or more power gates, one or more cache home agents(CHAs), one or more converged/common mesh stops (CMSs), one or moreshifters (e.g., barrel shifter(s)) and/or other circuitry may bepresent. The microprocessor 1200 is a semiconductor device fabricated toinclude many transistors interconnected to implement the structuresdescribed above in one or more integrated circuits (ICs) contained inone or more packages. The processor circuitry may include and/orcooperate with one or more accelerators. In some examples, acceleratorsare implemented by logic circuitry to perform certain tasks more quicklyand/or efficiently than can be done by a general puspose processor.Examples of accelerators include ASICs and FPGAs such as those discussedherein. A GPU or other programmable device can also be an accelerator.Accelerators may be on-board the processor circuitry, in the same chippackage as the processor circuitry and/or in one or more separatepackages from the processor circuitry.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of another example implementation of theprocessor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 and/or the processor circuitry 1112of FIG. 11 . In this example, the processor circuitry 412 is implementedby FPGA circuitry 1300. The FPGA circuitry 1300 can be used, forexample, to perform operations that could otherwise be performed by theexample microprocessor 1200 of FIG. 12 executing corresponding machinereadable instructions. However, once configured, the FPGA circuitry 1300instantiates the machine readable instructions in hardware and, thus,can often execute the operations faster than they could be performed bya general purpose microprocessor executing the corresponding software.

More specifically, in contrast to the microprocessor 1200 of FIG. 12described above (which is a general purpose device that may beprogrammed to execute some or all of the machine readable instructionsrepresented by the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and/or 9 but whoseinterconnections and logic circuitry are fixed once fabricated), theFPGA circuitry 1300 of the example of FIG. 13 includes interconnectionsand logic circuitry that may be configured and/or interconnected indifferent ways after fabrication to instantiate, for example, some orall of the machine readable instructions represented by the flowchartsof FIGS. 8 and/or 9 . In particular, the FPGA 1300 may be thought of asan array of logic gates, interconnections, and switches. The switchescan be programmed to change how the logic gates are interconnected bythe interconnections, effectively forming one or more dedicated logiccircuits (unless and until the FPGA circuitry 1300 is reprogrammed). Theconfigured logic circuits enable the logic gates to cooperate indifferent ways to perform different operations on data received by inputcircuitry. Those operations may correspond to some or all of thesoftware represented by the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and/or 9 . As such,the FPGA circuitry 1300 may be structured to effectively instantiatesome or all of the machine readable instructions of the flowcharts ofFIGS. 8 and/or 9 as dedicated logic circuits to perform the operationscorresponding to those software instructions in a dedicated manneranalogous to an ASIC. Therefore, the FPGA circuitry 1300 may perform theoperations corresponding to the some or all of the machine readableinstructions of FIGS. 8 and/or 9 faster than the general purposemicroprocessor can execute the same.

In the example of FIG. 13 , the FPGA circuitry 1300 is structured to beprogrammed (and/or reprogrammed one or more times) by an end user by ahardware description language (HDL) such as Verilog. The FPGA circuitry1300 of FIG. 13 , includes example input/output (I/O) circuitry 1302 toobtain and/or output data to/from example configuration circuitry 1304and/or external hardware (e.g., external hardware circuitry) 1306. Forexample, the configuration circuitry 1304 may implement interfacecircuitry that may obtain machine readable instructions to configure theFPGA circuitry 1300, or portion(s) thereof. In some such examples, theconfiguration circuitry 1304 may obtain the machine readableinstructions from a user, a machine (e.g., hardware circuitry (e.g.,programmed or dedicated circuitry) that may implement an ArtificialIntelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) model to generate theinstructions), etc. In some examples, the external hardware 1306 mayimplement the microprocessor 1200 of FIG. 12 . The FPGA circuitry 1300also includes an array of example logic gate circuitry 1308, a pluralityof example configurable interconnections 1310, and example storagecircuitry 1312. The logic gate circuitry 1308 and interconnections 1310are configurable to instantiate one or more operations that maycorrespond to at least some of the machine readable instructions ofFIGS. 8 and/or 9 and/or other desired operations. The logic gatecircuitry 1308 shown in FIG. 13 is fabricated in groups or blocks. Eachblock includes semiconductor-based electrical structures that may beconfigured into logic circuits. In some examples, the electricalstructures include logic gates (e.g., And gates, Or gates, Nor gates,etc.) that provide basic building blocks for logic circuits.Electrically controllable switches (e.g., transistors) are presentwithin each of the logic gate circuitry 1308 to enable configuration ofthe electrical structures and/or the logic gates to form circuits toperform desired operations. The logic gate circuitry 1308 may includeother electrical structures such as look-up tables (LUTs), registers(e.g., flip-flops or latches), multiplexers, etc.

The interconnections 1310 of the illustrated example are conductivepathways, traces, vias, or the like that may include electricallycontrollable switches (e.g., transistors) whose state can be changed byprogramming (e.g., using an HDL instruction language) to activate ordeactivate one or more connections between one or more of the logic gatecircuitry 1308 to program desired logic circuits.

The storage circuitry 1312 of the illustrated example is structured tostore result(s) of the one or more of the operations performed bycorresponding logic gates. The storage circuitry 1312 may be implementedby registers or the like. In the illustrated example, the storagecircuitry 1312 is distributed amongst the logic gate circuitry 1308 tofacilitate access and increase execution speed.

The example FPGA circuitry 1300 of FIG. 13 also includes exampleDedicated Operations Circuitry 1314. In this example, the DedicatedOperations Circuitry 1314 includes special purpose circuitry 1316 thatmay be invoked to implement commonly used functions to avoid the need toprogram those functions in the field. Examples of such special purposecircuitry 1316 include memory (e.g., DRAM) controller circuitry, PCIecontroller circuitry, clock circuitry, transceiver circuitry, memory,and multiplier-accumulator circuitry. Other types of special purposecircuitry may be present. In some examples, the FPGA circuitry 1300 mayalso include example general purpose programmable circuitry 1318 such asan example CPU 1320 and/or an example DSP 1322. Other general purposeprogrammable circuitry 1318 may additionally or alternatively be presentsuch as a GPU, an XPU, etc., that can be programmed to perform otheroperations.

Although FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate two example implementations of theprocessor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 and/or the processor circuitry 1112of FIG. 11 , many other approaches are contemplated. For example, asmentioned above, modern FPGA circuitry may include an on-board CPU, suchas one or more of the example CPU 1320 of FIG. 13 . Therefore, theprocessor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 and/or the processor circuitry 1112of FIG. llmay additionally be implemented by combining the examplemicroprocessor 1200 of FIG. 12 and the example FPGA circuitry 1300 ofFIG. 13 . In some such hybrid examples, a first portion of the machinereadable instructions represented by the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and/or 9may be executed by one or more of the cores 1202 of FIG. 12 and a secondportion of the machine readable instructions represented by theflowcharts of FIGS. 8 and/or 9 may be executed by the FPGA circuitry1300 of FIG. 13 .

In some examples, the processor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 and/or theprocessor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 may be in one or more packages. Forexample, the microprocessor 1200 of FIG. 12 and/or the FPGA circuitry1300 of FIG. 13 may be in one or more packages. In some examples, an XPUmay be implemented by the processor circuitry 1012 of FIG. 10 and/or theprocessor circuitry 1112 of FIG. 11 , which may be in one or morepackages. For example, the XPU may include a CPU in one package, a DSPin another package, a GPU in yet another package, and an FPGA in stillyet another package.

A block diagram illustrating an example software distribution platform1405 to distribute software such as the example machine readableinstructions 1032 of FIG. 10 and/or the example machine readableinstructions 1132 of FIG. 11 to hardware devices owned and/or operatedby third parties is illustrated in FIG. 14 . The example softwaredistribution platform 1405 may be implemented by any computer server,data facility, cloud service, etc., capable of storing and transmittingsoftware to other computing devices. The third parties may be customersof the entity owning and/or operating the software distribution platform1405. For example, the entity that owns and/or operates the softwaredistribution platform_05 may be a developer, a seller, and/or a licensorof software such as the example machine readable instructions 1032 ofFIG. 10 and/or the example machine readable instructions 1132 of FIG. 11. The third parties may be consumers, users, retailers, OEMs, etc., whopurchase and/or license the software for use and/or re-sale and/orsub-licensing. In the illustrated example, the software distributionplatform 1405 includes one or more servers and one or more storagedevices. The storage devices store the machine readable instructions1432, which may correspond to the example machine readable instructions1032 of FIG. 10 and/or the example machine readable instructions 1132 ofFIG. 11 , as described above. The one or more servers of the examplesoftware distribution platform 1405 are in communication with a network1410, which may correspond to any one or more of the Internet and/or anyof the example networks 1026, 1126 described above. In some examples,the one or more servers are responsive to requests to transmit thesoftware to a requesting party as part of a commercial transaction.Payment for the delivery, sale, and/or license of the software may behandled by the one or more servers of the software distribution platformand/or by a third party payment entity. The servers enable purchasersand/or licensors to download the example machine readable instructions1032 of FIG. 10 and/or the example machine readable instructions 1132 ofFIG. 11 from the software distribution platform 1405. For example, thesoftware, which may correspond to the example machine readableinstructions 1032 of FIG. 10 and/or the example machine readableinstructions 1132 of FIG. 11 , may be downloaded to the exampleprocessor platform 1000 and/or the example processor platform 1100,which is/are to execute the example machine readable instructions 1032of FIG. 10 and/or the example machine readable instructions 1132 of FIG.11 to implement the example vehicle control circuitry 104 and/or theexample path generation control circuitry 106. In some example, one ormore servers of the software distribution platform 1405 periodicallyoffer, transmit, and/or force updates to the software (e.g., the examplemachine readable instructions 1032 of FIG. 10 and/or the example machinereadable instructions 1132 of FIG. 11 ) to ensure improvements, patches,updates, etc., are distributed and applied to the software at the enduser devices.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example systems,methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture have been disclosed thatgenerate acquisition paths based on two curves that satisfy a thresholdcurvature and a threshold curvature rate of a vehicle. As such, examplesdisclosed herein ensure that the generated acquisition paths can betracked by the vehicle without sudden and/or rapid changes in curvature.Furthermore, examples disclosed herein add a runway portion and/or acopy portion to the acquisition paths to enable smooth transition of thevehicle from a current position to a target path of the vehicle. Thedisclosed systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufactureimprove the efficiency of using a computing device by reducing resourceconsumption of the computing device when generating the acquisitionpaths. For example, the disclosed systems, methods, apparatus, andarticles of manufacture calculate path lengths of the acquisition pathsand cause storage of ones of the acquisition paths having path lengthsless than previous solutions, thus reducing a number of the acquisitionpaths to be stored. The disclosed systems, methods, apparatus, andarticles of manufacture are accordingly directed to one or moreimprovement(s) in the operation of a machine such as a computer or otherelectronic and/or mechanical device.

Example 1 includes an apparatus including input interface circuitry toobtain input data associated with a vehicle, threshold calculationcircuitry to calculate, based on the input data, a threshold curvatureand a threshold curvature rate of the vehicle, and acquisition pathgeneration circuitry to select a point on a target path of the vehicle,generate an acquisition path from a current position of the vehicle tothe point, the acquisition path including at least two curves, and causestorage of the acquisition path in response to the at least two curvessatisfying the threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

Example 2 includes the apparatus of Example 1, where the input dataincludes at least one of the current position of the vehicle, a currentheading of the vehicle, a current speed of the vehicle, a wheel angle ofthe vehicle, a wheel angle rate of the vehicle, or a wheelbase of thevehicle.

Example 3 includes the apparatus of Example 1, where the input interfacecircuitry obtains the input data from at least one of a sensorassociated with the vehicle or a global positioning system (GPS) of thevehicle.

Example 4 includes the apparatus of Example 1, where the point is afirst point, the acquisition path is a first acquisition path, theacquisition path generation circuitry to select a second point on thetarget path, and generate a second acquisition path from the currentposition of the vehicle to the second point, the second acquisition pathsatisfying the threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

Example 5 includes the apparatus of Example 4, further includingacquisition path selection circuitry to calculate a first path length ofthe first acquisition path and a second path length of the secondacquisition path, select a lesser one of the first path length or thesecond path length, and cause storage of the first acquisition path orthe second acquisition path corresponding to the lesser one of the firstpath length or the second path length.

Example 6 includes the apparatus of Example 1, where the acquisitionpath generation circuitry is to copy a portion of the target path andadd the copied portion to an end of the acquisition path.

Example 7 includes the apparatus of Example 1, further includingposition modification circuitry to adjust the current position of thevehicle by adding a runway to the current position, the runway based ona current curvature of the vehicle.

Example 8 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium includinginstructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to atleast obtain input data associated with a vehicle, calculate, based onthe input data, a threshold curvature and a threshold curvature rate ofthe vehicle, select a point on a target path of the vehicle, generate anacquisition path from a current position of the vehicle to the point,the acquisition path including at least two curves, and cause storage ofthe acquisition path in response to the at least two curves satisfyingthe threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

Example 9 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofExample 8, where the input data includes at least one of the currentposition of the vehicle, a current heading of the vehicle, a currentspeed of the vehicle, a wheel angle of the vehicle, a wheel angle rateof the vehicle, or a wheelbase of the vehicle.

Example 10 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofExample 8, where the instructions, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to obtain the input data from at least one of a sensorassociated with the vehicle or a global positioning system (GPS) of thevehicle.

Example 11 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofExample 8, where the point is a first point, the acquisition path is afirst acquisition path, the instructions, when executed, cause the atleast one processor to select a second point on the target path, andgenerate a second acquisition path from the current position of thevehicle to the second point, the second acquisition path satisfying thethreshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

Example 12 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofExample 11, where the instructions, when executed, cause the at leastone processor to calculate a first path length of the first acquisitionpath and a second path length of the second acquisition path, select alesser one of the first path length or the second path length, and causestorage of the first acquisition path or the second acquisition pathcorresponding to the lesser one of the first path length or the secondpath length.

Example 13 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofExample 8, where the instructions, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to copy a portion of the target path and add the copiedportion to an end of the acquisition path.

Example 14 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium ofExample 8, where the instructions, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to adjust the current position of the vehicle by adding arunway to the current position, the runway based on a current curvatureof the vehicle.

Example 15 includes an apparatus including means for obtaining to obtaininput data associated with a vehicle, means for calculating tocalculate, based on the input data, a threshold curvature and athreshold curvature rate of the vehicle, and means for generating toselect a point on a target path of the vehicle, generate an acquisitionpath from a current position of the vehicle to the point, theacquisition path including at least two curves, and cause storage of theacquisition path in response to the at least two curves satisfying thethreshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

Example 16 includes the apparatus of Example 15, where the input dataincludes at least one of the current position of the vehicle, a currentheading of the vehicle, a current speed of the vehicle, a wheel angle ofthe vehicle, a wheel angle rate of the vehicle, or a wheelbase of thevehicle.

Example 17 includes the apparatus of Example 15, where the means forobtaining obtains the input data from at least one of a sensorassociated with the vehicle or a global positioning system (GPS) of thevehicle.

Example 18 includes the apparatus of Example 15, where the point is afirst point, the acquisition path is a first acquisition path, the meansfor generating is to select a second point on the target path, andgenerate a second acquisition path from the current position of thevehicle to the second point, the second acquisition path satisfying thethreshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.

Example 19 includes the apparatus of Example 18, further including meansfor selecting to calculate a first path length of the first acquisitionpath and a second path length of the second acquisition path, select alesser one of the first path length or the second path length, and causestorage of the first acquisition path or the second acquisition pathcorresponding to the lesser one of the first path length or the secondpath length.

Example 20 includes the apparatus of Example 15, where the means forgenerating is to copy a portion of the target path and add the copiedportion to an end of the acquisition path.

Example 21 includes the apparatus of Example 15, further including meansfor adjusting to adjust the current position of the vehicle by adding arunway to the current position, the runway based on a current curvatureof the vehicle.

Although certain example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles ofmanufacture have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of thispatent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers allsystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly fallingwithin the scope of the claims of this patent.

The following claims are hereby incorporated into this DetailedDescription by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus including: input interface circuitryto obtain input data associated with a vehicle; threshold calculationcircuitry to calculate, based on the input data, a threshold curvatureand a threshold curvature rate of the vehicle; and acquisition pathgeneration circuitry to: select a point on a target path of the vehicle;generate an acquisition path from a current position of the vehicle tothe point, the acquisition path including at least two curves; and causestorage of the acquisition path in response to the at least two curvessatisfying the threshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate. 2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input data includes at least oneof the current position of the vehicle, a current heading of thevehicle, a current speed of the vehicle, a wheel angle of the vehicle, awheel angle rate of the vehicle, or a wheelbase of the vehicle.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the input interface circuitry obtains theinput data from at least one of a sensor associated with the vehicle ora global positioning system (GPS) of the vehicle.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the point is a first point, the acquisition path is afirst acquisition path, the acquisition path generation circuitry to:select a second point on the target path; and generate a secondacquisition path from the current position of the vehicle to the secondpoint, the second acquisition path satisfying the threshold curvatureand the threshold curvature rate.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, furtherincluding acquisition path selection circuitry to: calculate a firstpath length of the first acquisition path and a second path length ofthe second acquisition path; select a lesser one of the first pathlength or the second path length; and cause storage of the firstacquisition path or the second acquisition path corresponding to thelesser one of the first path length or the second path length.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the acquisition path generation circuitryis to copy a portion of the target path and add the copied portion to anend of the acquisition path.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, furtherincluding position modification circuitry to adjust the current positionof the vehicle by adding a runway to the current position, the runwaybased on a current curvature of the vehicle.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed,cause at least one processor to at least: obtain input data associatedwith a vehicle; calculate, based on the input data, a thresholdcurvature and a threshold curvature rate of the vehicle; select a pointon a target path of the vehicle; generate an acquisition path from acurrent position of the vehicle to the point, the acquisition pathincluding at least two curves; and cause storage of the acquisition pathin response to the at least two curves satisfying the thresholdcurvature and the threshold curvature rate.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the input data includes atleast one of the current position of the vehicle, a current heading ofthe vehicle, a current speed of the vehicle, a wheel angle of thevehicle, a wheel angle rate of the vehicle, or a wheelbase of thevehicle.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to obtain the input data from at least one of a sensorassociated with the vehicle or a global positioning system (GPS) of thevehicle.
 11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the point is a first point, the acquisition path is a firstacquisition path, the instructions, when executed, cause the at leastone processor to: select a second point on the target path; and generatea second acquisition path from the current position of the vehicle tothe second point, the second acquisition path satisfying the thresholdcurvature and the threshold curvature rate.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the at least one processor to: calculate a first pathlength of the first acquisition path and a second path length of thesecond acquisition path; select a lesser one of the first path length orthe second path length; and cause storage of the first acquisition pathor the second acquisition path corresponding to the lesser one of thefirst path length or the second path length.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the at least one processor to copy a portion of thetarget path and add the copied portion to an end of the acquisitionpath.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to adjust the current position of the vehicle by adding arunway to the current position, the runway based on a current curvatureof the vehicle.
 15. An apparatus including: means for obtaining toobtain input data associated with a vehicle; means for calculating tocalculate, based on the input data, a threshold curvature and athreshold curvature rate of the vehicle; and means for generating to:select a point on a target path of the vehicle; generate an acquisitionpath from a current position of the vehicle to the point, theacquisition path including at least two curves; and cause storage of theacquisition path in response to the at least two curves satisfying thethreshold curvature and the threshold curvature rate.
 16. The apparatusof claim 15, wherein the input data includes at least one of the currentposition of the vehicle, a current heading of the vehicle, a currentspeed of the vehicle, a wheel angle of the vehicle, a wheel angle rateof the vehicle, or a wheelbase of the vehicle.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 15, wherein the means for obtaining obtains the input data from atleast one of a sensor associated with the vehicle or a globalpositioning system (GPS) of the vehicle.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the point is a first point, the acquisition path is a firstacquisition path, the means for generating is to: select a second pointon the target path; and generate a second acquisition path from thecurrent position of the vehicle to the second point, the secondacquisition path satisfying the threshold curvature and the thresholdcurvature rate.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, further including meansfor selecting to: calculate a first path length of the first acquisitionpath and a second path length of the second acquisition path; select alesser one of the first path length or the second path length; and causestorage of the first acquisition path or the second acquisition pathcorresponding to the lesser one of the first path length or the secondpath length.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means forgenerating is to copy a portion of the target path and add the copiedportion to an end of the acquisition path.
 21. The apparatus of claim15, further including means for adjusting to adjust the current positionof the vehicle by adding a runway to the current position, the runwaybased on a current curvature of the vehicle.